Posted: Sun, Dec 31, 2017, 9:43 AM ET (1443 GMT)
SpaceX erected its Falcon Heavy rocket on the launch pad for the first time Thursday, conducting tests in advance of a launch some time in January. The company rolled the rocket, with its three core boosters and upper stage, to Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, raising it to the vertical position for fit checks. The rocket was lowered and rolled back to its hangar a day later. The rocket is scheduled for a static fire test on the pad in early January that, if successful, will clear the way for its first launch later in the month.